It's part of a ministry created in 1976, seven years before the Greater Berks Food Bank was established, when the church was known as Central UMC.

"I wish I could do as much as I used to," said Ruth, 84, as she passed out tickets telling pantry patrons when they could return again to fill two large grocery bags with food.

Every week, the food pantry provides more than 80 families with groceries, and the soup kitchen serves hot meals to more than 150 of the city's hungry.

Having attended the church for most of her life, Ruth has seen it transition from Central Park UMC to the bilingual church it is today, with members who are able to communicate in Spanish with food pantry visitors such as Reina Sanchez.

"With the current economy, the pantry helps me very much," said Sanchez, 27, who came to Reading from central Mexico 14 years ago. "Not just me but many people. It is very important to a lot of us."

Sanchez has a job, but she said she is grateful to have the pantry to supplement meals for herself and two children, Carlos, 10, and Jennifer, 4.

Sanchez and Ruth, though separated by language, agree that New Journey's plan to provide more community services as a ministry center will give many people in Reading the chance to transform their lives.

"I think it a very good idea to help people look for jobs and opportunity," Sanchez said, referring to the employment-preparation ministry New Journey hopes to start. "I would use the nutrition education, because I want to help my children live better lives."

Tom Flannery, 81, a retired electronics repairman who lives in Temple, has been visiting the food pantry for nearly six years.

"I pay four months of Social Security to taxes," Flannery said. "I have to watch my money, and with the pantry, I don't have to worry about buying food."

Though Flannery is unsure whether he would find any use for the proposed ministries, he knows others could use that help. And he knows many people rely on the pantry just to survive.

"I've seen people who have camped out for the pantry early in the morning," he said. "I've even heard of some that have spent the night here waiting for it to open."